YEREVAN. – The bodies of the Armenians pilots—who lost their lives as a result of the plane crash in the Republic of the Congo—will be transferred back to Armenia in the coming days, General Department of Civil Aviation Press Secretary Nelly Cherchinyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. 

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, a cargo plane belonging to Armenia’s “Ridge Airways” company crashed on November 30 while attempting to land at the airport of Republic of the Congo capital city Brazzaville. The accident claimed at least thirty lives including seven crew members, among which five citizens of Armenia. The killed Armenian pilots are Varazdat Balasanyan, Ara Tovmasyan, Tadevos Hovhannisyan, Andranik Gevorgyan, and Edgar Avetyan. 

The Congo-Brazzaville authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. According to eyewitnesses, the plane crashed as a result of a lightning strike.